TWO couples who tried to hoodwink immigration officers by marrying each other’s partner, were arrested as they were about to go through with the sham ceremonies.

Michal Mankos and Vladislava Mankosova were both involved in the marriage scam

Pakistani nationals Muhammad Hanif and Huma Aslam arranged to wed Czech couple Michael Mankos and Katerina Gerychova in a desperate attempt to live in the UK.

The Czech pair had EU passports allowing them to live in the UK and by marrying the Pakistanis for £5,000 their fake “spouses” would be entitled to remain in the country and claim benefits.

Hanif, 23, Aslam, 26, and Mankos, 24, were jailed but Gerychova, 24, escaped custody because she had only participated due to “peer pressure” from her lover.

Newcastle Crown Court heard how Hanif and Gerychova travelled to Gretna Green on July 24 last year while Mankos and Aslam had booked Newcastle Civic Centre for their ceremony. Both weddings were due to start at noon.

She thought the groom was on edge and the bride was trying too hard

Amanda Ripon, prosecuting

But the couples were foiled at the last moment by home office investigators who had been tipped-off by a suspicious registrar. Hanif and Aslam met after coming to the UK in 2011 and 2012 as students.

When their visas expired they contacted Waseem Shah, 30, and Ivan Holub, 24, to arrange sham marriages so they could stay.

Holub used his connections to the Czech community in Newcastle to set Hanif and Aslam up with his childhood friend Mankos and his girlfriend, Gerychova.

But the plot was rumbled by registrar Catherine McDermott at Newcastle Civic Centre when Mankos and Aslam applied for a notification of marriage form.

Amanda Ripon, prosecuting, said: “She thought the groom was on edge and the bride was trying too hard.”

Investigations quickly led immigration officials to the intended dual ceremonies and officers were waiting at both venues when the brides and grooms arrived resplendent in their wedding attire.